The Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) has come under attack over its comment on the proposed Muhammdu Buhari University.
Aisha Buhari had last Saturday during a townhall meeting in Yola, Adamawa State, revealed plans to establish a university in honour of Buhari.
Aisha, who did not reveal when or where the university would be sited, explained that it would be established in collaboration with partners from Sudan and Qatar.
Reacting, ASUU lamented that the declaration was a sad reminder of the president’s continued reduction of budgetary allocation to the education sector since 2015.
ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, called the proposed university a joke.
However, Scholars Without Boundary (SWB), faulted the position of the academic union on the yet-to-be established tertiary institution.
The group said such comment attributed to ASUU should only come from garage urchins and not academic body.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the scholars through its president, Ibrahim Taiwo, said it is worrisome that ASUU seems to have abandoned their major responsibilities of contributing their quota to the peace and development of Nigeria to the obsession with frivolities and diversionary irrational debates.
The group advised members of the union ASUU to rather dissipate their energies on productive engagements to assist in the development of Nigeria.
“The chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (UI-ASUU) Professor Deji Omole, termed it a disaster and proceeded to slate the Federal Government of Nigeria over the proposed plan of a private university which will adopt the nomenclature of President Buhari. In another interview, ASUU’s former national treasurer, Professor Ademola Aremu advised Mrs. Buhari to influence policies in education for the President Buhari’s administration to revitalize public-funded education because universities are proliferated in the country. The arguments by both Omole and Aremu are fluid, childish and incendiary. Or how else, could one strike a nexus between establishment of a private university and its bearing with the Federal Government outside the approval for license? How does it conflict with public universities? Would the proposed university be funded with public funds? What is really the grouse of Omole and Aremu?, “ he queried
